


Maki's Delivery Service

by peggywrites



Category: Lupin III
Genre: Fluff, Other, Papa Zenigata, Post Movie, Slice of Life, big brother lupin, blood seal eternal mermaid, i wanted to write something happy for this fandom dammit, this aint a ship fic so get outta here w/ that BS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:20:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23255353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peggywrites/pseuds/peggywrites
Summary: After the events of Eternal Mermaid, Maki and her sister go about everyday life with their new bakery. Maki uses her bike to make deliveries, and is surprised when she has two familiar faces order within the same day.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	Maki's Delivery Service

If one counted the days, which Maki did, it had been a little over a year since Lupin III had come into their lives. A year, two months, and seventeen days, if you wanted to be precise about the exact numbers. A little over a year since Lupin (reluctantly) had taken Maki up as an apprentice in order to steal her older sister Misa away from bad guys who wanted to use her powers for evil.

And about a year since Zenigata ceased his boat chase with Lupin and personally escorted the two girls safely back to the group home. It took a boat ride and a long car ride, and even though he grumbled the whole way about losing track of Lupin, he was kind enough to stay for tea when Nanna offered.

Maki had kept up some thief tendencies, or at least, that’s what she would like to call them. When it was time to buy new clothes, she tried to dress more like her Lupin Sensei. Since dress clothes came at a higher price, she opted for a red hoodie and a black tank top instead, with a yellow bow in the hair to tie it all together. She tried to see how fast she could swipe things off the table, or how accurately she could throw a knife into the backyard tree. Just in case thieving ever proved to be an option for her.

However, it never did.

Misa had found a talent for baking, and she even rented out a small store front not far from the group home where she began a small business. She made all kinds of things; cookies, brownies, dango, small cakes, gyūhi and mushi pan. The business was appropriately named _Misa’s Mermaid Sweets_ , with the goods being labeled with variations of the sea and the creatures in it. Maki had insisted they name a sweet after Lupin, so they decorated a vanilla iced red velvet cupcake with a piece of yellow fondant resembling a tie, and named it simply “Hero”.

Misa took to making treats quickly, though was learning to live life without her powers a little bit slower. At times she forgot about her curse being lifted and got careless. Right now, one of her fingers was wrapped in a Band-Aid from accidentally cutting it with a knife.

Misa gave most of her earnings to the group home to keep it afloat. Ever since Toudou was murdered, the home didn’t have a steady source of income. Of course, Inspector Zenigata dropped in every few months for a generous donation, and there were anonymous envelopes left in the mail box containing wads of bills.

Maki could guess where they came from, and attempted to stay up some nights to see if she could catch whoever was placing them inside.

Every day after school, Maki would use her bike as a small delivery service for her sister’s shop. It had been her idea for the service as a way to better get Misa’s business to others. She delivered to birthday parties, nursing homes, and other places that needed a treat quickly. Sometimes Zenigata would request sweets for the whole ICPO police station whenever he was in town and Maki would happily ride through the city with the goods in her basket. She liked visiting the inspector. Even if he always looked tired, he made sure to gave her a big smile and a very good tip.

Maki had taken to answering phone calls at the shop and was overjoyed to hear Zenigata’s voice over the receiver.

“Aaah! Mr. Zenigata!” Maki jumped in place, turning to wave at Misa, who gave a big smile. “How are you?”

“Hungry!” Boomed the man from the other end. “So are the boys.”

Maki giggled, grabbing a notepad and pen from her overall pocket. “What can we get for you today, sir?”

“ _Mmmmhh_ , let’s see.” He paused before shouting something over his shoulder that Maki couldn’t quite make out. “How many taiyaki boxes can you fit on your bike?”

Maki blinked before thinking about if for a moment. “I think four? Each box should hold about twelve. So, forty-eight taiyaki?”

“That’s it! And make ‘em all different flavors for us.”

“You’re buying out our whole supply!” Maki laughed, showing him she didn’t mind as she tore the paper off her notebook and placed it on the counter top for Misa. “We have to finish baking a few more, is half an hour okay?”

“It’s perfect. And no rush. I don’t want you falling off your bike or getting into an accident because you think you need to hurry.” Zenigata said a bit seriously.

“Okay. Thank you! I’ll be there in a bit, Pops!” Maki sang-songed the words brightly and placed the phone back onto its stand.

“What a generous man.” Misa smiled as she made her way to the shop’s kitchen to bake the rest of the taiyaki. “It’s nice to know he’s back in the city.”

“It’s **_great_** to know!” She declared. “That means Lupin Sensei must be close by!” Maki jumped excitedly, placing boxes on the counter top to start filling them with the sweets.

“Now, don’t go and mention Lupin while you’re there.” Her sister called. “He might be taking a break; we don’t need to stress him any further than he is.”

“I doubt Zenigata has ever taken a break in his whole life.” Maki scrunched up her nose, but understood what Misa was saying. The inspector might’ve been just passing through town and wanted to say hello. There was no guarantee Lupin would be there too.

It wasn’t exactly like the thief had actually shown up since their first encounter.

After the rest of the sweets were cooked, the four boxes were tied to the back of Maki’s bike. The girl took a moment to check the direction of the police station and headed out into the city. She took her time, as to not worry the inspector when she arrived; stopping at all the lights, checking both ways before she crossed, etc. etc.

She locked her bike outside the police station and showed the woman at the front desk Zenigata’s order receipt. She let Maki in with a smile, telling her to tell the other to put one aside for her. Maki carefully untied the boxes and stacked them in her arms, making her way slowly down the hall at the woman’s instructions.

She was intercepted right before she turned into the ICPO breakroom, almost bumping right into Inspector Zenigata.

“Maki!” He said, both in surprise and excitement upon seeing her.

“Hello, Mr. Zenigata!” Maki laughed, placing on hand on top of all the boxes so they wouldn’t fall.

“Goodness, those look heavy, let me help you with those!” Before she could protest, Zenigata had taken the top two boxes from her hands and set them on one of the breakroom tables. He did the same for the other two and then turned to Maki with a great big smile and his hands on his hips.

“Let me get a look at you, you sounded taller on the phone, but just seeing you? You’re getting bigger every time I see you.” He said with a smile.

This made Maki stand up straight, trying to get to her full height. While thieves were supposed to disrespect the law, Zenigata was one of the only adults in their lives that had actually been kind to them.

“Thank you, sir!” She said with a great big smile.

As Zenigata reached into his coat pocket for his wallet, a few officers flowed in and out of the breakroom, taking the baked goods from their boxes. Maki was delighted to know that so many people liked her sister’s baking. She knew this delivery service was a good idea. After counting under his breath, Zenigata placed a wad of cash within Maki’s hands. The girl blinked for a moment before shaking her head.

“This is too much.” She told him, but he held up his palm to stop her from protesting any further.

“I don’t know when’s the next time I’ll be back in the city. You keep a little bit for yourself, okay?”

Maki paused, looking down at the money before giving the inspector a smile. “Okay, I will.”

“Good, now, you better have one too. Don’t want to let these things go to waste.” Zenigata placed his wallet back into his pocket and grabbed two napkins. Maki took a seat at one of the tables as he picked out two sweets and made his way back to her, handing her one with a smile.

Maki had to admit, she knew why everyone liked Misa’s baking, they were absolutely delicious.

“So, how are you two doing?” Zenigata asked.

“Pretty alright. School’s out for the summer so that’s always fun. Now I have plenty of time to run deliveries for Misa.” Maki explained after taking a bite. Not very ladylike to talk with food in her mouth, but Maki was never one to be a lady.

“I’m glad. You two are really making your way up in the world.” The inspector smiled, taking a bite of his sweet and waiting a while before he spoke again. He paused for a moment, then gave her a curious tilt of his head. “You know, you called me ‘ _Pops_ ’ over the phone.”

Maki almost choked on her taiyaki. She put a hand to her mouth and coughed at his words, waving a hand to show she was fine as Zenigata placed a worried hand on her shoulder. “I did?! Oh, my gosh! Sir, I am **_so_** sorry!"

“No, no, it’s fine!” The inspector’s face reddened as he shook his head, pulling his hand back from her. “It was cute, actually.” He laughed, nervously scratching his chin. “I don’t think anyone’s every actually called me ‘Pops’ in a genuine way.”

Maki paused, blinking as she decided to completely ignore what Misa told her. “Not even Lupin?”

Instead of looking mad or annoyed, the inspector simply shrugged. “I never saw it as a kind nickname. Always made me feel kind of old, which I guess is the _point?_ ” He gave her a ‘ _I don’t know_ ’ kind of look, shrugging once again. “I’ve hardly heard Lupin say it genuinely though. If it’s serious he usually just calls me by name.”

“Oh.” Maki said with a nod of understanding. “Is that why you’re back in the city?” She ventured hopefully. “Because Lupin is back.”

“Eeeh, maybe.” Zenigata said in what seemed like all honesty. “He robbed a jewelry store a few weeks back and we found the gems in a local pawn shop. Don’t know if he skipped town yet.”

Maki nodded, but Zenigata held up a finger before she could respond.

“That doesn’t mean you go out looking for him, missy.”

“I wasn’t going to –“

“Ah – ah! I see your get up.” He said this with kindness, not malice, maybe there was a bit of amusement in his voice. “Just don’t go looking for trouble where there doesn’t need to, alright?”

Maki thought for a moment, then decided it was probably for the best interest of the inspector’s health that she agreed. Plus, none of her earlier escapades to find her old sensei had actually worked. “Okay, Pops. I promise.” And she gave him a smile.

A few more words were exchanged before Maki got back on her bike to head back to the bakery. The little girl ran a couple of more deliveries as the day went on. The shop closed at 9 pm, and they got a call at 8:15. Maki, of course, picked it up.

It was an old man’s voice, not like Pops’. It sounded a lot like someone doing an impression of an old man voice, like what you would expect an old man to sound like, but she wasn’t one to judge.

“Yes, hello?” The voice said. “Ah! Good this is the right number. My granddaughter gave it to me, you see? Says that this is the best bakery in the city. If you have the time, I know it’s very late, but if you could we’d like to order two orders of your dango dumpling sticks. Oh, and perhaps one of your lovely _Hero Cupcakes_ please.”

“I hope you’re eating both!” shouted a grumpy voice from what sounded like the other end of the room. “My tooth is killing me, would you _please_ order actual food and not just sweets?!”

“Oh, hush up you old geezer!” replied the old man’s voice.

“ _I’M ONLY A FEW YEARS_ –” And the other’s voice was cut off by the sound of a door closing.

“I’m so terribly sorry. That was my flatmate. He’s a bit grumpy today. Are you still there?”

“Yes, sir. I’m still here.” Maki answered, keeping down a small giggle.

“Wonderful. I do think that’ll be all we order though. Oh, I should’ve asked this earlier, but you do delivery, correct? I don’t think my old bones could make it down there this late.” Said the old man on the phone.

“Of course. If you tell me where you’d like it dropped off and I’ll have it to you soon.” Maki explained. She then wrote down the address the man gave her, which was an apartment in a complex not too far down into the city, gave the man the price and thanked him before she hung up. “Misa!” She called. “One last delivery for the night!”

While Misa had her worries about Maki being out this late at night, Maki reassured her that nothing bad could happen to her, since she had Mr. Zenigata’s number on speed dial. And with the inspector in town and most likely patrolling at this very moment, she’d be just fine.

Maki did, in fact, spot a few more police cars on her bike ride to the apartment complex. Though she couldn’t tell if any of them were carrying one fedora wearing police inspector. The apartment building wasn’t exactly super fancy, but it wasn’t run down either, it somewhere in the nice middle. Maki locked her bike outside and pushed the doors open. She showed the young woman at the counter the receipt and told her it was for the old man in apartment 3B. The woman smiled, knowing exactly who it was for, and opened the door inside with a key. Up the elevator she went, trying to keep her footsteps quiet as she walked down the hallway. It was nearing 8:45 pm, and she didn’t know how early people were going to sleep.

After reaching the door, Maki held the package at her hip with one hand and softly knocked on the door with the other. It took a minute, but soon the shadow of two feet appeared below the door.

“Yes?” Came the old man’s voice. “May I help you.”

“My name’s Maki, sir. We spoke over the phone.” Said Maki, loudly enough to be heard through the door. “I have your order from Misa’s Mermaid Sweets.”

“Oh! Wonderful, give me just one moment.” Said the voice. But Maki blinked. She could’ve sworn she heard the old man’s voice slip away at the end. She didn’t have time to question it, as not a second later the door opened to reveal a very tall figure in the doorway. Not at all looking like an old man. He was lean, wore a red jacket, and an absolutely contagious grin.

Maki’s face lit up like a light bulb.

“ ** _LUPIN SENSEI!_** ” She shouted, nearly dropping the box of sweets. Lupin’s expression switched to one of concern as he placed a finger on top of his lips. He grabbed Maki’s shoulder and pulled her inside, quickly shutting the door behind him.

“Why did I _not_ think you were gonna shout?” Lupin groaned, smacking a hand over his head. “Kid, this is a _hideout_. Hideout as in _no one is supposed to know it’s me in here!_ ”

“Oh my gosh, it’s you! It’s _really_ you!” Maki squealed, trying her best to keep her voice down.

There was the sound of a door opening, then a man scrambled out, clutching one hand to his jaw. “The Hell is with the screaming?”

Maki gasped again, smacking both hands to her cheeks and dropping the box, thankfully caught by Lupin’s quick hands. “ ** _JIGEN!_** ” She smiled, making the usually calm and cool gunman jump a bit at her volume.

“Maki!” Now Lupin’s hand was over her mouth. “What point of **_hideout_** do you not get? Plus, it’s late! People might be trying to sleep.” Maki blinked up at him, still not completely believing the two partners-in-crime were actually there. “I’m gonna take my hand away, are you gonna be quiet?” Maki couldn’t nod her head fast enough. “Okay.”

“I can’t believe you’re _really_ here.” Was the first thing she said as soon as Lupin’s hand pulled away. “I mean, it’s _really_ you.”

Lupin giggled, walking further into the apartment and placing the package of sweets on a countertop. He gestured for Maki to follow and leaned his elbow against the counter. “It’s good to see you too, Maki. You and your sister are really living it up out there, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, well, we’ve had help.” Maki smiled, walking over to him with her hands behind her back. “But I’m sure you know about that, don’t you?”

“It was _Jigen’s_ idea to leave you guys money.” Lupin said, ignoring the shocked grumble from his friend. “He hates sweets, but he’s a real _sweetie_ himself. Big softy for kids.”

“Oh! Well, then –“ Maki turned around to Jigen, giving him a bow of respect. “Thank you very much, Jigen! You don’t know how much that’s helped us.”

Jigen’s eyes appeared out of his hat long enough for Maki to see him blink in surprise. “Yeah. Well. You kids looked like you needed it. And, ya know, I remember what it’s like to be – _ah Hell!_ I’m gonna order real food.” Jigen threw his hands in the air before shoving them in his pockets. He made his way around the duo and grabbed the phone.

Lupin giggled, gesturing to the man with his thumb. “See? Softy.” This was met with a grumble from the other. “C’mon kid, let’s go for a walk. We’ve got some catching up to do.”

Instead of using the elevator and the front door, Lupin insisted they take the fire escape out the window. He told Maki that he and Jigen rented the apartment as old men, hence the voice over the phone, and he didn’t feel like putting on his disguise.

“But why did you use the voice with me?” Maki asked, looking down to see where she was placing her feet on the latter. “Why the surprise?”

“Because.” Lupin gave a _‘hup!’_ as he landed on the ground. “I didn’t want you falling off your bike or getting into an accident because you thought you needed to hurry.” He held out both hands, ready to catch her.

“You sound exactly like Pops.” Maki giggled, hopping down the last bit and letting the man place her safely on the ground.

“Oh, **_gosh_** , don’t say that.” Lupin gagged, walking out of the alley and onto the sidewalk.

“It’s true. He said the exact thing this morning when he called us.” The little girl ran to catch up with him, placing her hands in her hoodie pockets to mimic his stance.

“That so? Maybe I’m getting old and senile too.”

“Zenigata isn’t senile.”

“You haven’t seen him on work days.” The gentleman thief sighed, cocking his head so his ear touched his shoulder. He peaked an eye open to see that Maki was doing it too. “I like your new style, by the way. Very snazzy.” He told her, placing his red sleeve to hers.

“Thank you!” Maki smiled, nudging him back. “So, I heard you robbed a jewelry store.” She pushed, a bit teasingly. “That’s pretty cool.”

“Yeah, got a whole lot of money for that one. _OH!_ That reminds me. I can give you this now instead of in your mailbox before we leave.” Lupin dug into his pocket, pulling out his wallet that was overflowing with cash. He stuck his hand in and placed a whole stack of bills, held together by a tight rubber band, in her hands. “That’s for the dango and the amazing cupcake too. Pretty sweet of you guys to name one after me.”

Maki’s eyes lit up at the cash. Not only was it more money than she had ever held in her life, but it was money given to her by her Lupin Sensei, and money won on a heist no less!

“This is amazing!” The little girl turned to him, placing the money within her hoodie pocket where it would be safe. “Thank you so much, Lupin Sensei!”

“Hey, I wouldn’t want my little apprentice to lose her new business. Especially with how well it’s going so far.” Lupin shrugged with a smile, as if it were no big deal. But Maki moved so that she was in front of him, and the thief’s eyes blinked open with surprise.

“No, really. _Thank you._ ” Maki insisted, more sincerely than before. “You guys didn’t have to. You didn’t have to check in on us every few months or leave us money, but you did. So _thank you_.” She took a step forward, gaging Lupin’s expression before running in to wrap her arms around the thief’s waist.

She heard Lupin suck in a surprised breath, and hoped that she didn’t make the wrong choice.

“I never had a dad, or a big brother.” Maki said, burying her face within the soft material of Lupin’s shirt. “But if I – but if I did, I’d want him to be just like _you_.”

There was a pause, and soon Lupin’s hands criss-crossed behind her, locking her into a hug. The thief sunk down a bit to be more on Maki’s level, so that her forehead now rested on his shoulder.

 _“Yeah_.” Lupin said softly, in a tone of voice that she hadn’t heard from him before. It was sincere. He gently squeezed Maki back. “Me too, kiddo.”

There was a long pause between the two of them, where they held each other underneath a streetlight on the sidewalk. Without letting go or moving very much, Maki thought now would be a good time to speak up.

“Hey,” She said softly. “Do you want to answer my question now?”

“Mmh?” Piped up Lupin.

“My question. I asked you why you’re a thief if you said they were criminals who never got a good night’s sleep.”

“Oh, that question.” Lupin giggled softly. “I actually answered that to Jigen a while ago. My grandpa was a thief, you see? Best in the world. As Lupin the third, I gotta live up to that, or else, who am I?” The thief pulled back a bit, giving Maki a warm smile. “But you shouldn’t worry about things like that.”

“Have you?” Maki asked, still onto one of Lupin’s sleeves.

“Have I what?”

“Gotten a good night’s sleep?”

Lupin laughed, tucking his head into his shoulder blades. “You know what? I’ll be honest with you again; I don’t think I have in a long time. Sorry, kiddo.”

“Oh.” Maki sighed, dropping her gaze. Lupin seemed to notice her concern, so he placed a hand on top of her head.

“Hey, don’t worry about it, maybe those sweets will help tonight.” There was a pause as he thought for a moment. “Tell you what. Tomorrow, two old geezers will come into your shop and they’ll sit down and have the best sweets in the world and tell you how they slept. Okay?”

Maki blinked. Not only was she going to see Lupin, but seeing him two days in a row. She looked back up at him, clutching his sleeve tightly in one hand. “Do you promise?”

“When Lupin the third makes a promise. He never breaks it. Cross my heart.” Lupin said, tracing an X over his heart with one hand.

And it was true. Lupin III did not break his promise.

**Author's Note:**

> OH MAN! So this got way longer than I thought and I didn't know how to end it. I just wanted to write something happy for the fandom with how much angsty Lupin stuff I've been cranking out. Sometimes you just gotta write fluff of characters talking and going about their everyday lives.
> 
> Blood Seal: Eternal Mermaid is currently my favorite Lupin TV special right now. I go back and watch it every time I'm mad abt how Ami's character ended up in part V. Maki is such an amazing, head strong girl and I kinda ??? hope we'll see her again one day. Her & Lupin's relationship always makes me smile. So here's a dose of good older bro/lil sis content for y'all. Hope you enjoyed my total self indulgent drabble.


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